Ulus Baker
Encyclopedia
Ulus Sedat Baker was a Turkish Cypriot sociologist
. Baker was born to a cosmopolitan family; his mother was the famous Cypriot poet Pembe Marmara, and his father was the prominent psychiatrist of the island, Sedat Baker. Baker studied in Russia
(then the Soviet Union
), Turkey
, France
, and Cyprus
. He completed his studies at the Department of Sociology in METU
in Ankara
and began his academic life in the same institution shortly thereafter. He was a very productive intellectual and a prolific scholar; he had already become an influential public intellectual in Turkish cultural life beyond the academia by mid-nineties. Although he had always taught within academic institutions, his relation with academia had certain tensions and breaks; he only completed his Ph.D. in 2002 with a thesis titled "From Opinions to Images: Towards a Sociology of Affects", he was disinterested in having a stable academic position, and after 2000 till his death, he had various teaching gigs in different universities in Ankara and Istanbul besides his main affiliation at Middle East Technical University. Shortly before his death, he also started teaching in Istanbul, where he died.
Baker was an influential figure in contemporary political theory in Turkey, both as a prolific author, and as a professor of sociology, media, and film theory. From late 80's till his death, he frequently wrote for major Turkish scholarly journals such as Birikim, Toplum ve Bilim, Virgül, and Defter. He was a polyglot, his fields of interest ranged from literary criticism to the cinema of Dziga Vertov
. He significantly contributed to the rise of interest in the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze
and Baruch Spinoza
through a variety of translations and lecture series. His political commitments inspired him to take part in the founding of Autonomist
political/artistic collective Körotonomedya in 1994 with other Ankara based scholars, students and artists of that time, including Aras Özgün, Özgür Gökmen and Hakan Topal. Körotonomedya collective has been among the forerunners of experimental new media and video art
in Turkey, and Baker's work within the collective became a major theoretical resource in these fields.
, Baker was teaching Modern Visual Arts and Visual Thinking at GİSAM (Audio Visual Systems Research and Production Centre) of METU and at Istanbul Bilgi University
. He died on July 12, 2007 in Istanbul after being hospitalized for chronic liver deficiency.
Besides a multitude of articles in various publications, Baker's published works include; What is Opinion? (Pyromedia, 2001), Aşındırma Denemeleri (Birikim Yayınları, Istanbul, 2002), Siyasal Alanın Oluşumu Üzerine Bir Deneme (Paragraf Yayınları, Ankara, 2005).
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Baker was born to a cosmopolitan family; his mother was the famous Cypriot poet Pembe Marmara, and his father was the prominent psychiatrist of the island, Sedat Baker. Baker studied in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(then the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
), Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. He completed his studies at the Department of Sociology in METU
Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey...
in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
and began his academic life in the same institution shortly thereafter. He was a very productive intellectual and a prolific scholar; he had already become an influential public intellectual in Turkish cultural life beyond the academia by mid-nineties. Although he had always taught within academic institutions, his relation with academia had certain tensions and breaks; he only completed his Ph.D. in 2002 with a thesis titled "From Opinions to Images: Towards a Sociology of Affects", he was disinterested in having a stable academic position, and after 2000 till his death, he had various teaching gigs in different universities in Ankara and Istanbul besides his main affiliation at Middle East Technical University. Shortly before his death, he also started teaching in Istanbul, where he died.
Baker was an influential figure in contemporary political theory in Turkey, both as a prolific author, and as a professor of sociology, media, and film theory. From late 80's till his death, he frequently wrote for major Turkish scholarly journals such as Birikim, Toplum ve Bilim, Virgül, and Defter. He was a polyglot, his fields of interest ranged from literary criticism to the cinema of Dziga Vertov
Dziga Vertov
David Abelevich Kaufman , better known by his pseudonym Dziga Vertov , was a Soviet pioneer documentary film, newsreel director and cinema theorist...
. He significantly contributed to the rise of interest in the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze , was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until his death, wrote influentially on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus , both co-written with Félix...
and Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch de Spinoza and later Benedict de Spinoza was a Dutch Jewish philosopher. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death...
through a variety of translations and lecture series. His political commitments inspired him to take part in the founding of Autonomist
Autonomism
Autonomism refers to a set of left-wing political and social movements and theories close to the socialist movement. As an identifiable theoretical system it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerist communism...
political/artistic collective Körotonomedya in 1994 with other Ankara based scholars, students and artists of that time, including Aras Özgün, Özgür Gökmen and Hakan Topal. Körotonomedya collective has been among the forerunners of experimental new media and video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
in Turkey, and Baker's work within the collective became a major theoretical resource in these fields.
, Baker was teaching Modern Visual Arts and Visual Thinking at GİSAM (Audio Visual Systems Research and Production Centre) of METU and at Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University is a private, non-profit university in Istanbul, Turkey. It was actually established in 1994 under the name ISIS , but its name was changed to Istanbul Bilgi University with the foundation of the school on June 7, 1996...
. He died on July 12, 2007 in Istanbul after being hospitalized for chronic liver deficiency.
Besides a multitude of articles in various publications, Baker's published works include; What is Opinion? (Pyromedia, 2001), Aşındırma Denemeleri (Birikim Yayınları, Istanbul, 2002), Siyasal Alanın Oluşumu Üzerine Bir Deneme (Paragraf Yayınları, Ankara, 2005).
External links
- What is Opinion? a video lecture by Baker
- Körotonomedya website of the collective
- A collection of Ulus Baker's articles at Korotonomedya
- Art & Desire Seminars An international seminar series in memory of Ulus Baker, organized by Korotonomedia, Norgunk Publishers and KozaVisual.
- Ulus Baker at METU Academic Staff Catalogue
- Modvisart Modern Visual Arts course blog